know—ended up embezzling more than half the company’s money. Once they looked at him more closely, it seemed some major information was missed when he was hired. He’d been suspected of embezzling in the past. Some people seemed to think Sissy knew about it, and hired him anyway.”
“Wonder what was in it for her?”
“Or if she was just gullible.” Casey swallowed down the bad taste in her mouth as she thought of Sissy being taken not only by that guy from the past, but Brandon, as well. “Oh, Sissy.”
“What’s in the other folders?”
Casey picked her way through. “All of them have women’s names on them. Krystal. Bernie—that woman from my aerobics class. A bunch of names I don’t recognize. Laurie. Even Maria.” Casey pulled that one out. The first paper in the stack was a copy of an expired green card, with the name Melina Reynaldo, and an old photo of Maria. Following that were copies of government papers—denied citizenship applications, searches for other family members, even deportation reports citing other people with the last name Reynaldo. All from the last year and a half.
“Oh, no,” Casey said.
“Maria’s here illegally?” Death tsked. “Under an assumed name? She’s a naughty girl. And that would explain the second picture in Sissy’s folder. Maybe Brandon thought Sissy knew about Maria’s illegal status and hired her anyway.”
“If this Melina is actually Maria. And even if it is, she’s got kids. Who knows if they’re citizens or not? You can’t ask a woman to leave her kids behind while she’s deported. She’s going to do everything she can to stay.” Casey glanced at the clock. “I’ve got to go. We’ll study these more later.” She looked around for a bag, but had to settle for shoving the folders sideways into her purse. “No wonder Maria wanted that key. I’m surprised there aren’t more women looking for it. I’ll have to think about where to stash these so they don’t get stolen.” Casey shoved the drawer back in its spot and headed to the lobby.
“Another question,” Death said. “Why are the folders still here? Why didn’t Brandon take them with him?”
“That is strange. And dangerous. But maybe these are just copies and he has the originals with him. Like he left them here for back-up.”
“Makes sense. Although if I were Brandon, I would have destroyed the evidence before I got out of town.”
“I don’t think Brandon believed anyone would ever come after him. They’d be too embarrassed to admit he’d scammed them.”
“All done?” Geena the Teller finished with a customer and whirled to face Casey, her smile blinding.
“Yeah. Thanks. Hey, I was wondering, did you know Andrea Parker?”
Geena’s smile disappeared. “Of course I did. She was…did you know her?”
“I live at the Flamingo.”
“Oh. She loved that place.” Geena came out from her window and flung her arms around Casey. “Isn’t it awful?”
Casey went stiff, but managed to pat Geena on the back until she finally backed off.
“Aw,” Death said, giggling. “Just what you like. Close, personal contact.”
Casey stepped farther away from the teller. “What about Krystal?”
Geena wrinkled her nose and glanced behind her. No one was close enough to hear, but she still closed the gap between the two of them, pushing Casey against the wall. “I’ve never been able to figure out why those two were friends. Andrea was so nice, and Krystal is so…you know.”
“Yes.” Casey gave Geena a girl-to-girl smile. “What exactly was Andrea’s job here?”
“Loan officer. Mostly for small businesses, but she’d do some personal loans, too.”
“And Krystal?”
Geena stepped even closer, her crossed arms touching Casey’s. “She’s a loan officer too. For big business. But I always get the feeling she doesn’t do a whole lot of actual banking, if you know what I mean.”
Casey knew. “So she’s just a show piece?”
“The boss seems to use her that way. Although I’m not sure how much it’s just for show.” She shrugged. “I could be wrong, of course. Maybe she really does know about money and stuff. It’s just hard to look past—”
“Geena!” A man came up behind her. He wore a dark gray suit, blue tie, and shiny black shoes, looking almost like Death’s fashion twin. His eyes were wary and alert. “Shouldn’t you be in your window instead of talking to your friends?”
Geena went pink and swiveled away. “Oh, sorry, sir! This is…” She faltered, her hand waving at Casey. “And this,” she said to Casey, “is our bank manager.”
“Hmm,” Death said. “The plot thickens. Remember how Andrea and Krystal were